Ayers had been asked to speak on March 29 by the university's Social Justice Research Center, but university president Tom Buchanan put the kibosh on his address. When the center didn't fight this edict -- displaying a lack of backbone, in Lane's view -- Meg Lanker, a student, stepped forward, only to be turned down by the university as well.

That's when Lane entered the story, sending a letter to the university threatening to sue if the situation wasn't resolved to Lanker's satisfaction by noon yesterday.

Did Lane hear from university officials?

"The day before, they said, 'We'll get back to you at some point in the future,'" he notes. After that, silence.

According to Lane, the suit will ask for "injunctive relief from the court and attorney fees. We will seek an order mandating that they allow Ayers to speak on campus, and if we prevail, the University of Wyoming will have to pay me my attorney fees.

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.

SHOW ME HOW

Newsletters

SUCCESS!

You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!

"We would like him on campus possibly as early as April 28," Lane continues. "There's an event happening on campus that day, and he's been invited."

While this date won't appear in the lawsuit, Lane believes the Wyoming court won't allow the case to linger. "As a general rule, preliminary injunctions get speedy attention from the federal courts, and we're going to be pushing for a hearing very quickly," he says.

I have been retained by Ms. Meg Lanker a student at the University of Wyoming, and Mr. William Ayers regarding your email earlier today to Ms. Lanker in which you stated as follows:

Pursuant to our telephone conversation, the University of Wyoming will not be available as a venue for the event you are hosting for Mr. William Ayers.

Having represented Professor Ward Churchill against the University of Colorado in a similar circumstance, it is my belief -- and that of every court which has heard similar cases -- that your action is violative of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. You are prohibiting Mr. Ayers from speaking in a public forum commonly used for such purposes and you are preventing those interested members of the student body and community at large from hearing his message based solely upon the content of that message. As you undoubtedly know, the government is not permitted to censor free speech based upon its content.

If you do not permit Mr. Ayers to speak on campus in the same forum normally used for such purposes, I will proceed to file suit against the University of Wyoming in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. I am confident that the court will rule for free speech and against repression.

If I have not heard from you by high noon MDT, April 14th we will proceed to file.

Sincerely,

David A. Lane

Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports and stories that defy categorization.